1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a cooked meat product suitable for shredding and a procedure for its manufacture more particularly this invention relates to a cooked meat product that is processed within "cook-in" packaging material to produce a product that can be shredded while still in the packaging material and exhibits an extended shelf life.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has long been known that if one were to cook a piece of meat for a sufficiently long period of time or under pressure eventually the meat would fall apart into the individual muscle fibers or groups of fibers. This phenomenon has been recognized and used for such products as stews, pot roasts, soups and briskets. Recently, it has become desirable to use shredded meat or shredded meat products in various ways in the food industry. The fast food industry in particular has developed a need for producing or having a supplier produce a shredded meat or meat suitable for shredding. Prior to this invention, that would mean an expenditure of large amounts of manpower and energy to the fast food producer, as shredded meat or meat that was readily shreddable was not commercially available.
The best method to date for supplying a shredded meat or a shreddable meat was to cook the meat in a pressure vessel and then mix the meat in an open vessel with a roux or sauce or flavoring gravy of some sort. Then this combination would be put into a bag and sealed, at which time the bag would have to be pasturized after the meat had been processed to allow for refrigerated storage.
Returning now from the manner in which meat can be processed to the subject of shredding. We should first look at the meat itself. In the book The Science of Meat and Meat Products published in 1971 written by R. Cassens, at pp. 18 and 19, we find the description of connective tissue. Connective tissue is one of the main factors and components of animal tissue. The connective tissue, as used herein, is that which divides the muscle into bundles and the connective tissue component that is most common in the muscle tissue is collagen. Muscle cells do not occur in the absence of connective tissue and the collagen can be converted to gelatin through a process called hydrolysis. Hydrolysis of collagen occurs in the presence of water and heat.
Ledward et al. in the J. Sci. Food Agric., Volume 35, 1984, at page 1-62, states that hydrolysis of collagen is relatively slow until the temperature reaches about 90.degree. C. or about 194.degree. F. with a marked increase in the rate of hydrolysis of the collagen from 90.degree. C. to 100.degree. C. (194.degree. F. to 212.degree. F.).
There are several problems that arise when dealing with or producing the shreddable meat product using the methods previously known. One important problem is the reduction or the limitation of shelf life due to the post pasturization process which is really not very efficient. Yield losses may also be high, as well as the loss of significant flavors and aromas during the cooking and mixing process prior to packaging. However, one of the most difficult problems to overcome has been in the area of developing product processing parameters and the related problem of package failures during any heat treatment (i.e., pasturization) steps.